Second home and letting through Airbnb or similar?

[henry d]

Does anyone let their home or second/holiday home through Airbnb or similar?

Good way to let short term? Problems? Wear n tear? Worthwhile financially?

Have you used Airbnb and what were your experiences/expectations?

[Newbie to this]

I've used Airbnb while working in various European countries, I have zero complaints. The properties were very well kept and of a high quality. Far better than staying in hotels, felt more like being at home. I should add we rented the entire property, I think with these types of rentals you can also rent rooms while the owner still lives there.

Can't help with the other side of the operation.

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by Newbie to this

[Lloyd90]

1 hour ago, henry d said:

Does anyone let their home or second/holiday home through Airbnb or similar?

Good way to let short term? Problems? Wear n tear? Worthwhile financially?

Have you used Airbnb and what were your experiences/expectations?

 

I believe issues arrive with insurance, as it’s not a solid rental (eg to 1 family/person) ... it’s more like a hotel. 

 

Issues may also be present with your mortgage provider. 

 

Some people will say this only matters if you: 

- even bother with insurance - that’s up to you. 

- bother to tell your insurance. 

- have a mortgage or own outright. 

- bother to tell your mortgage provider. 

 

My brother works for a big mortgage company, he said even a buy to pet mortgage doesn’t cover multiple tenancies eg HMO’s and god knows what an air BnB comes under. 

 

 

 

I think a big majority of people who do it probably don’t tell anyone 🤷‍♂️

 

Of the Air BnB’s we have stayed in they have been lovely. The standard was high and we always looked after the place as it was our own. I imagine it’s like any rental, good and bad tenants. 

 

I also know holiday lets qualify for mortgage relief on the tax unlike long term buy to let’s so would look into those particulars if you need a mortgage as that would be a big benefit. 

[oowee]

I have used them often and found them very good. From an owners perspective it looks an attractive proposition. As lloyd says there are good and bad tenants and with short term lets and the frequency of turnover you will get a fair share of bad tenants. If the property is remote from you then you have to factor a management cost. Cleaning and turn around arrangements. There is also a facility called something like 'super host' where you have the advantage of a local guide to call upon, to give advice but also to collect you from the airport etc. Worth paying extra for, but from an owners view point it must reduce the opportunity for bad tenancy outcomes. 

[stuartyboy]

I've used Airbnb many times for boozy weekends away. All I'm expecting is that the property is as described. Obviously different properties have different qualities or amenities which are reflected in the price.

I think it's a great system. Usually cheaper than a night in a hotel, but you get the whole apartment or flat to yourselves.

If I was a Airbnb owner I would be conscious of my neighbours and the clientele that you may be attracting. Prospective users are reviewed and given a star rating by previous Airbnb owners so that, at least, gives you some idea of the type of person requesting to stay in your home.

[henry d]

Thanks for the replies, it's a BTL mortgage and it would be for the whole house and not HMO. As we are far away from it my daughter can look after the cleaning etc as she is 20 minutes away

Edited April 27, 2019 by henry d

[strimmer_13]

We use them often, sometimes as cheap as camping. Always found them clean and the hosts friendly. I avoid hotels now if I'm on my own, which is a shame as I like hitting the bar 👍

[Lloyd90]

1 hour ago, henry d said:

Thanks for the replies, it's a BTL mortgage and it would be for the whole house and not HMO. As we are far away from it my daughter can look after the cleaning etc as she is 20 minutes away

 

Sorry Henry, point I was making is that a BTL mortgage may not include this type of renting. 

As said above, you may want to check with your mortgage provider, as if it’s an issue they could pull out as you’d be in breach of your mortgage terms which I imagine would cause issues. 

 

As also said though, I doubt most people bother. Just want you to be aware mate 👍🏻. 

 

Edited to add: there are new mortgages available for this type of letting. 

https://www.which.co.uk/news/2018/08/new-mortgages-launched-for-airbnb-hosts/

Edited April 27, 2019 by Lloyd90

[robbiep]

Also be aware that a lot of Cities have introduced restrictions on how much / how long a property can be available / used for in the year, before it is regarded as a hotel rather than a house, and thus needs a change of planning permission.

Also, AirBNB and all the others provide details of owners, income, etc to the taxman. Who may just take his time and let you hang yourself with a fraudulent tax return, if you were that way inclined ...

[henry d]

Cheers Lloyd

[henry d]

1 minute ago, robbiep said:

Also be aware that a lot of Cities have introduced restrictions on how much / how long a property can be available / used for in the year, before it is regarded as a hotel rather than a house, and thus needs a change of planning permission.

Also, AirBNB and all the others provide details of owners, income, etc to the taxman. Who may just take his time and let you hang yourself with a fraudulent tax return, if you were that way inclined ...

It will only be for the summers as its only a mile to the beach but winter time there would have limited appeal to most people and we only want to recoup a few quid as we are likely to move into it full time in the future.

[amateur]

My daughter and SIL rent out their mortgage-free holiday cottage in the Peak District for most of the year in short-term holiday lets through the Sykes agency.

They have had no problem tenants and my SIL's local mother cleans it, changes the linen and keeps an eye on it.

It is profitable and booked up with return customers - so much so that the family have to block out the school half-terms to ensure that they can spend some time there!

It is, of course, fully declared to HMRC.

[harrycatcat1]

3 hours ago, henry d said:

Thanks for the replies, it's a BTL mortgage and it would be for the whole house and not HMO. As we are far away from it my daughter can look after the cleaning etc as she is 20 minutes away

I think the important point that Lloyd raised is insurance. Everytime I renew rental insurance they ask "is it let to someone with at least a 6 months tenancy agreement." I would advise you to get a quote first.

Just my opinion.

[daveboy]

My landlord insurance is minimum 6 months tenancy. Tenants to have passed a credit check. Tenants to be employed

or retired.

Edited April 27, 2019 by daveboy
spelling

[rimfire4969]

We own this place: https://www.duchyholidays.co.uk/property/cornwall/perranporth/sand-bay-no4/san998?d=18-05-2019&n=7&p=2

We obviously let through an agent who takes 18% plus vat, which is a chunk of money. I have been looking very hard at Airbnb I can see plenty of advantages and we could reduce the rental price as we don't lose 18% making it cheaper to rent. The advantage with the Agent is we do nothing unless there is a problem, the agent also have a maintance team who can take care of problems if we are not about. With the agent we will get 20 plus weeks rented out. With Airbnb I would expect possibly more lettings but for shorter periods of time so the cleaning and washing need to be taken into account. My wife takes 2 hours plus to clean and changing the sheets on the beds which then also need washing and ironing anoth hour, so I would expect us to do a minimum of a 3 night stay. The change over will also have to work around our work, so a lot of parameters would have to be set up which would reduce bookings.

This place is my pension plan, we put a large sum down and have a small specialty mortage on the place from Bath Building Society, you will pay more for this sort of mortgage and if its your second property don't forget the increased Stamp Duty. If you run it as a business and pay business rates on it there is no council tax and you should be able to claim small business rate relief depending on your council. I am working the the plan that as long as all costs are covered its great and with property prices increasing its earning more than in the bank. If property prices crash well thats life, but I am very happy to take that risk.

I still don't know what we will do next year with the agent or Airbnb so I will follow this thread very closely.

 

 

[dustydave]

On 27/04/2019 at 17:22, harrycatcat1 said:

I think the important point that Lloyd raised is insurance. Everytime I renew rental insurance they ask "is it let to someone with at least a 6 months tenancy agreement." I would advise you to get a quote first.

Just my opinion.

i've just insured a property i own with homeprotect at a cost of £230 as a 'holiday home let out to guests' for up to ten guests staying (buildings only - not contents as i tend to self insure on those ) - so it needn't be too expensive. NFU had a similar policy for £890

[harrycatcat1]

21 hours ago, dustydave said:

i've just insured a property i own with homeprotect at a cost of £230 as a 'holiday home let out to guests' for up to ten guests staying (buildings only - not contents as i tend to self insure on those ) - so it needn't be too expensive. NFU had a similar policy for £890

That seems a very good price 👍